March morning mulloway continues this month

THE TWEED Leon McClymont

The fishing on the Tweed has been exceptional, from the river to the shelf.

The water temperature inside the 50s has been 26-27°C and electric blue one day, and then 23.5°C and a shade of green the next. Finding the right species to target on the day can have a lot to do with these changes. In cooler, greener water it’s good to target bottom fish such as snapper or jew, as they seem to move back onto the shallower reefs with the cooler water push. You will still find mackerel and other pelagics in this water but it can be slow deep up into the shallows, bringing the bait with it. The bait tends to want to school up and loiter in the cooler waters. large female Spanish that had remained in Southeast Qld to spawn have now well and truly finished spawning, and are focused on feeding and restocking their energy reserves for the next season. Their records of super seasons where they can spawn for up to 6 months of the season – which we have just experienced this season. Each Spanish mackerel can dump/spawn several times during the spawning period, going if that is the only species you’re targeting. Rather than trolling around in this water you can drift or anchor up and fish both water columns, having baits on the bottom and a bait/livie sitting on the surface under a float. This will provide much better options for the fish that may be in the area.

These changes have resulted in Tweed anglers sometimes struggling to find a feed, as they may be targeting the wrong species on the wrong days.

On those days when you have the electric blue water and that bit warmer current show up, that’s the time to chase pelagics and put your time into trolling around, covering ground.

Bait schools of slimies, pillies etc have been pushing south with the cooler water. Catching bait can be a struggle some days as the local reefs are just about a desert for bait when the water temp has been over 26-27°C. Then within a few days or some heavily northerlies, the cooler water will push back in and bring the bait back with it. I believe the cool water pushes in from the

In amongst the large schools of bait, there have been good numbers of mulloway (jewfish), with several reports of lucky anglers snagging big size jew as bycatch while slow trolling for mackerel. At this time of year, the mulloway will school up in huge numbers, and they are in the process of spawning on the inshore reefs. All the mulloway I have recently caught have been active fish ready to spawn, or which are already in the process of spawning. The mulloway spawning is timed perfectly to finish up with the annual mullet run, where they will move right in on the beach gutters, break walls and river entrance waiting for schools of mullet to harass.

Reports of great size snapper have been working their way through the local fishing community, with many anglers opting to chase snapper and other reefies on the quieter, deeper reefs, leaving the mackerel for the crowds.

From recent reports, the snapper have been frequently found out a little wider in 60-90m of with up to 1-5million eggs each dump/spawn. That means a single fish could produce up to 30 million eggs in a single season. water in large schools. Anglers are still picking up the odd good-size snapper on the shallow inshore reefs, but these fish aren’t in huge numbers. The mackerel have been touch-and-go for the start of the season, but March should deliver good fishing for Spanish mackerel on the Tweed and surrounding areas, in my opinion. The remaining biomasses/very chosen dining areas are the inshore reefs lining the east coast from the southern end of the Great Barrier Reef to the most southern reaches a mackerel has been caught on the east coast. Some years we have longer spawning periods for Spanish mackerel (and pretty much any species, for that matter). Spanish typically spawn for at least 3-4 months, but there are

Beyond the shelf in the deep blue, anglers have enjoyed an exceptional marlin season so far, with many anglers taking advantage and going well into the double digits of hooked fish for the day. Big blues and striped marlin have made up the majority of catches.

By the end of March we should start to see the current slow down a fair bit, and a lot of anglers will switch up the trolling gear and starting bringing out the electrics to target those deep sea tasty creatures.

River fishing has been on fire, with huge numbers of mangrove jacks and trevally coming in. The humidity has had them chewing hard, and surface lures and divers are great way to target these species in the river systems.

If you’re into sitting back and enjoying a coldie, I can confidently say that soaking cut baits and livies is for you. It has got to be the most relaxing and yet exciting fishing that can be had when that reel suddenly comes alive.

It’s been great to see the amount of people enjoying the water of late. Just remember to give other people fair space, and be respectful of the waterways and each other. Until next month, soak ‘em long.